China factory activity shrinks for fourth month in July, PMI shows

 


BEIJING (Reuters) -China's manufacturing activity shrank for a fourth month in July, an official survey showed on Thursday, suggesting that a surge in exports ahead of higher U.S. tariffs has started to fade while domestic demand remains sluggish.

The official purchasing managers' index (PMI) dropped to 49.3 in July versus 49.7 in June, below the 50-mark separating growth from contraction, and missed a median forecast of 49.7 in a Reuters poll. The reading was the lowest since April.



(Reporting by Ellen Zhang and Ryan Woo; Editing by Himani Sarkar)